March 2017 Frugal Chatter - All Welcome!!!

[Ciel]

Ok, the promised list of 10 brilliant uses for dryer sheets from the latest issue of First For Women:

1. Calm a pet puppy's storm anxiety by rubbing his fur with a dryer sheet.The charged fabric will neutralize the static to soothe his anxiety. (Just a note from me-Mom's friend's recently departed pet had a fear of thunder/lighting and would stay by her side through it all and even sleep. But she had to stay with him or no settling down occurred.)

2. Keep mice out of your space-stuff a scented dryer sheet into any openings where the pests seem to be entering your home. The intense fragrance will deter the mice to steer clear of the area.

3. Wipe up dry spills on your kitchen counter (i.e. flour) with a dryer sheet.The tightly woven fibers in the sheet will capture all the tiny particles.

4. Dust-proof electronic screens by gently wiping down the screen with a dryer sheet (same principle as in #1-static reduction; note-electronics usually have advice that you clean devices when they are turned off.)

5. Easily remove glitter nail polish when it won't come off-dab nail polish remover on a dryer sheet and use it to scrub your nails. The sheet's rough texture will pull off the stubborn glitter.

6. Ensure chrome fixtures sparkle. Buff freshly clean chrome with a dryer sheet which will leave behind a waxy residue that repels water and oil. (I have to test this tip soon.)

7.Restore a handheld vacuum's power. If your handheld vaccum isn't picking up grime like it used to, there may be static buildup in the canister. The fix: cut off a thin strip of a dryer sheet and suck it up with the vacuum. After a few seconds, turn off the machine and empty the canister.

8. Eliminate stuck-on food from dishes. Fill the dish with hot water and lay a dryer sheet on top, then let it soak overnight. Softening agents in the sheet will break down the stuck on food bits while you sleep. In the morning, simply dump out the water and wash the dish as usual.

9. De-gunk hairstyling tools. If your curling iron has hairspray residue: turn the appliance to the lowest heat setting, then slip your hand into an oven mitt and use it to carefully swipe a dryer sheet over the warm plate surface. The heat will loosen the grime so you can scrub it on with the abrasive dryer sheet. ( Remembering my chemistry class principles: like dissolves like; temperature is a factor in the rate of chemical bonding).

10. Freshen an old musty book left for years in storage and smelling mildewy. Place a used dryer sheet in the center of the book, close it, and leave for 24 hours. The sheet's porous fibers will absorb moisture in the paper and leave behind a pleasant scent.

[Ciel]

Some organization and money tips from the same magazine (it's published in the US, so your YMMV):

Hanging belts on a carabiner (a D-ring on the closet rod as shown in the photo with the tip) keeps them organized and frees up closet space. (I'd find metal moving on metal noisy so maybe put a microfibre lens cloth under the top part of the ring to keep noise minimal).

No-spill trick to fill an iron-fill a clean condiment bottle with water and use it fill the iron.

Move a fridge with ease when wanting to clean the back of it: spray glass cleaner on the floor in front of the fridge. The liquid helps reduce traction while the alcohol in the clean will make the floor slick so you can slide the appliance (just take care not to scratch the floor.) *my note-the spray might not be wise for engineered wood floors or porous/stainable materials. I personally empty as much of the freezer and all of the fridge out before moving the appliance forward. I also have a white vinyl eraser to rub out any black caster marks left on the vinyl flooring during the move.

No more chipped paint! To hang party decorations without damaging the paint-place a strip of painter's tape on te wall where you want to hang a banner, sign or other item, then cover that tape with double-sided tape (my suggestion-look for Elmer
double-sided craft squares (at Staples) that you peel off) and hang your decoration. When you're ready to remove it, carefully pull on the painter's tape, which will peel away easily without taking any paint off your wall.

Shake these items prior to purchasing: fresh produce-it's always a good idea to dry the food thoroughly before bagging. You're going to be charged by the gross weight. Also wet produce rots faster if you keep it in the bag at home.

A 5-lb bag of apples may actually weigh more than that-you never know until you weigh it. Food producers are required to fill these bags so they contain at least the weight listed on the label, but sometimes you'll get more than the bag indicates. (Good tip to check out on the next produce trip. I should weigh the bagged reduced nut mesh bags as well as usually there is no weight provided with the price label.)

Check out sales near the stockroom-always take a look at the discontinued section. You never know what you'll find for savings of at least half off or more. (SCers have that tip covered thanks to sharing posts of store finds plus also places in different departments to check for sale or clearance items).

[Ciel]

well I ventured out driving out to a local store -zarkys got an apple pie for a treat 3.99 special today only(baked there) cant beat that price then got gas for hubby and stopped at shoppers for my milk -love getting the 760 points for 4.27 worth of milk 4 litres -as my shoulder is not in pain today
-supper tonight frozen lasagna and fresh dinner rolls and apple pie of course

Miss zipping into Zarky's and finding treats. Now I visit Longo's and buy something to try.

[Angela273]

@ Ciel Thank you for the suggestion regarding Whiskas wet cat food, but we rarely feed our cats wet food. They are 10yrs and 11yrs old, but are both in good health.

[Angela273]

I finally made the meatballs for the freezer. I turned 7lbs of lean ground pork and deer into 116 meatballs. I oven baked them on 3 parchment lined cookie sheets. I also made 5 burger patties for supper out of some more of the ground meat, about 3/4lb total.

Tonight's supper was home made burger patties, toast or no yolk noodles, Mann's sugar snap peas, and a glass of milk.

I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow afternoon. This little cold may have turned into an ear infection, my ears have been hurting half of the day. I also need prescriptions for braces for my arms due to handling the twins so much, it is hurting the tendons, etc. Dh's medical coverage will reimburse 75% of the purchase with the prescription. I have specialist appointments on Tuesday, good thing I don't have to travel for these. Baby girl has a GP appointment on Wednesday, the rash has returned on her back again. She might get referred to a dermatologist in Regina, 2.5hr drive.

[Ciel]

@Angela273 -I need to find out how to bake meatballs because the one recipe I do use requires stove-top cooking and I dislike that. Fabulous job in making meatballs and burgers out of the meat.

[Angela273]

@Angela273 -I need to find out how to bake meatballs because the one recipe I do use requires stove-top cooking and I dislike that. Fabulous job in making meatballs and burgers out of the meat.

Thanks, I only started oven baking meatballs two years ago. Tonight I put the three cookie sheets of meatballs in my convection oven at 350 (self adjusts to 325). I checked and rotated the pans. They were done but still moist after 45min. I cut a meatball in half, picked one from the middle of a pan, just to be sure. I know some recipes say to oven bake at a high temp like 400, which would work, but I prefer to bake them at a lower temp.

[sweet sparrow]

Sworn affidavit and doctor's note mailed. I hope the birth certificate arrives before the deadline, later this month.

My T4 finally showed up in the mailbox last Thursday evening. If I can, maybe I can Netfile for 2016 this week.

[Natalka]

Hope everyone has a wonderful, frugal week!

[Angela273]

It was +4 yesterday, but now we are under a blizard warning. We already have freezing rain and it is 37km/hr winds before gusts. Our twins got up at 6am, so I think I'll put away the clean dishes and bake an apple crisp now that our son just got up.

edit: I still didn't bake the apple crisp. I cleaned the kitchen instead. I put away the clean dishes, washed all the remaining dishes and the cookie sheets from the meatballs, washed the table and high chairs, swept the floor, purged/cleaned/organized a top shelf that had random sippy cups. I also folded and put away the load of towels from last night. Dh just put them in a basket so that he could wash/dry his work clothes.

The twins started their day at 6am, so they just crashed for their nap. Dh texted that I should nap too, so I'd better get off my phone now. I'll need to plan extra time to scrape the ice off my van before picking our son up from Pre-K later this morning.

[sweet sparrow]

@Angela273: I've thought about you and your twins these past weeks. I think mine is getting heavier and I can't hold her for long. I can't imagine what you're going through. I hope all your doctor's appointments go well.

@barbis9: I tried the PC Plus app but I can't remember the password for the email, nor my recovery answers for the account. I tried linking the account to another as the PC CSR suggested and that didn't work either. It told me that the account was already linked to an email.

[Angela273]

@Angela273: I've thought about you and your twins these past weeks. I think mine is getting heavier and I can't hold her for long. I can't imagine what you're going through. I hope all your doctor's appointments go well.

Some people like to tease that our children are small, but they are healthy and active. Our oldest is barely 34lbs and he is 4.5yrs old. He wears size 3 pants with the elastic belt adjusted smaller and size 4 shirts. Our twins are now 19 months old. Baby boy weighs 24lbs and baby girl weighs 22lbs, they both wear 12 month pants. I know that they are growing, but they are slim so I have to be careful that the next size pants will stay up on them. Baby boy is wearing bigger sized shirts. They are somewhat in the inbeteeen size of clothes right now.

I think of you and granger's families too. It's nice that we have children around the same age.

[coupon girl]

angela -kids all come in different sizes for sure Ashlyn is short and tiny for her age 3 yrs 5 months she is around 27 pounds-Sebastian on the other hand is almost 6 months and about 19 pounds -was so cute watching him roll over yesterday then he gets so frustrated on his belly

-well ladies my arm is slowly getting better -would love to go to value village 50% off today but upper arm is still sore so there will always be another 50% off sale some time down the road
-just chillin today -may go thru another kitchen drawer to declutter

[Frugalbigmama]

Happy Monday!! We are expecting rain later today. Bring it on. I want the snow gone!

Made DS a wonderful lunch- Nice roastbeef sandwich with cheese and lettuce, fresh strawberries, snap peas, chocolate milk and a yogurt. The sandwich was huge so that should please him!

I brought strawberries, snap peas and a banana. Will go home at lunch and make eggs and toast.

I bought bread crumbs at Food Basics yesterday for .99 (I bought 2) Debated if I should go back and get more. Then I realized that I have been moving a huge box of bread crumbs around in my cupboard that my sister gave me from Costco. So will put the ones I just bought away and use up the huge box 1st! The fridge in the house is showing room so I should pull some meat from the deep freeze and move it in there so it motivates me to use it up. So many sales on meat but I am really trying to use up what we have. The Gala apples at our RCSS are really nice. I pm'd Food Basics (.88LB) bought about 6Lbs. DS had 3 yesterday! He really likes them! I will make sure to grab more on Wednesday (last day of sale) to last us the next week or so.

[Frugalbigmama]

I spent $46.88 on groceries yesterday. $10 was on juice boxes and Kool aid jammers (summer treat, I freeze them and take on road trips/for cooler) 4 x 1L oil, 2 x bread crumbs which was all stocking up really. I had spend $30 get 3000 PC pts which I was aiming to do. I plan to spend another $10 this week to get more choc milk, apples and strawberries. But that should do us for the next week. I am finding groceries on the cheap side lately.